With Great Power (I could do hell of a lot more)
by Tramontana Keeper
Summary: Erwin's little team of superheroes aren't exactly the most popular - they don't play by the rules; they get stuff done. When they find out that the villain they've been tracking (what kind of name is Levi for a supervillain, anyway?) is actually a shapeshifter, things get rough. When they try to rehabilitate him, things get rougher.
1. Chapter 1

_This fic is the result of a conversation with Zee about what kind of superpowers everybody would have, which somehow evolved into a fic. _

_**This is a genfic**. There will be no shipping whatsoever, but lots of very platonic bonding - especially between Levi and Eren and Levi and Erwin. _

_I hope you enjoy! Comments and criticism are, as always, very welcome. _

* * *

It had been deceptively easy to fight Levi off, that first time. Levi surprised him when his hands suddenly turned into blades, but Erwin countered by tearing up a piece of floor and throwing it at him. It should have crushed him – screw trying to bring a villain to justice, Erwin had been after him for months now and better have Levi dead than escaped – but Levi didn't even dodge, just turned into liquid and oozed out from underneath, reconstituted himself in a flash and was lunging towards Erwin's throat once more.

Erwin learned several important things in that moment: Levi could do full-body shifting, he could do it _fast_, and he was quick on the uptake. This explained a lot about how Levi consistently managed to sneak into high-security facilities and steal weapons of mass destruction. Now if only Erwin could survive this fight to share the information with the rest of the Scouts…

This time, when Levi attacked, Erwin pretended to dodge and managed to get him with an electrified dart. Levi jerked back, apparently unprepared for the electricity, and Erwin took the opportunity to jump, slamming upwards through several concrete floors and bounding to the roof where his jet was parked. Intel was the priority, here. As of now, nobody but him knew that Levi was a shapeshifter, and he couldn't risk that information dying with him. Erwin was strong, enough to jump buildings and crumble concrete, but shapeshifters were tricky. It would be easier to take him down with backup.

Erwin didn't like grandstanding. The Scouts worked as a team because they shared a philosophy: get the job done, get it done efficiently. Honor could be doled out when the villains were gone.

Erwin threw himself in and gunned the engine, hearing noises behind him. Time to get out of here. He threw the plane forward and into the sky, just in time to see Levi's dark form scramble onto the roof, extra appendages melting back into his body.

"Widget? This is Commander, do you copy?"

The radio crackled to life immediately with her voice. "Commander? What's your status?"

"Getting the hell out. Levi's a shapeshifter, you hear? I repeat, he's a shifter. He can weaponize his body, he turned liquid and resolidified, he's_fast_, he's -" Erwin caught a glimpse of the rearview screen and started cursing.

"What is it?" Widget's voice came sharp and tense.

"He's chasing the jet. _He turned into a dragon_."

Levi was obviously displeased with his secret being out, and determined to take Erwin down. Not today, though. Erwin flipped a few switches and fired, sending a veritable arsenal of missiles at the dragon.

He was fast enough to follow the plane, but apparently not maneuverable enough to dodge such a large explosion. At least some of the torpedoes must have connected, because Erwin saw a small form dropping from beneath the clouds of smoke. He shot two more homing missiles just to make sure, though it was optimistic to think that Levi'd go down so easily.

At least he hadn't managed to turn into a _fire-breathing_ dragon.

Widget, of course, was insufferable with enthusiasm. "A true shapeshifter? Liquids, inorganics, and a full body transformation? That's amazing! I've never heard of one with that much versatility!" and proceeded to dance off in paroxysms of joy.

"What does he look like?" Mike (excuse me, Bloodhound) asked.

Erwin stretched, calmer now that he was back in the safety of the base, where they could put together a plan to take Levi down once and for all. A better one than last time. Though to be fair, the last plan had gotten them their first direct encounter with Levi and revealed his abilities, so it couldn't be called a waste.

"A bit shorter than me, probably about here," he motioned around nose level. "Pitch black all over, even his teeth were black, except for red eyes. I didn't see any costume lines. Thin build. Very utilitarian, though, no frills, no fangs, nothing standing out except for the eyes. I have no reason to believe that's his true form."

Widget was back. "You mean you think he was double-shifting? Incredible! He might be one of the most advanced shifters in the _world_."

"Hopefully soon he'll be one of the most _dead_ shifters in the world," Eren growled.

"He'll be a pain to kill," Wildfire chimed in, worrying at the edge of one her gloves. "If he's really that versatile. How will we even find him?"

"I grappled with him. Bloodhound might be able to catch the scent."

Mike's sense of smell was legendary, able to track across entire countries, if given enough time.

"We'll have to take him down fast and hard. Wildfire, your talents might help – fire hot enough could do the trick." Erwin's thoughts spun, trying to come up with ideas. The best way to take down a shifter was with a multi-pronged attack: it was difficult to defend against multiple types of powers at the same time.

Erwin sat back and reviewed his troops, arrayed around the table.

The heaviest hitter on their team was probably Eren (Titan, he reminded himself), with his healing factor and ability to transform into a fifteen-meter-tall giant. The downside, of course, was that his talents were just a bit choppy and unreliable, and he'd gone berserk more than once.

Erwin himself had super-strength, but nothing like the big leaguers who were bulletproof and could fly. The greater superhero community generally looked down on him for supplementing his powers with fancy tech, but he had decided long ago that he gave no damns. He got the job done.

Mike could track almost any scent with his nose, but that was the extent of his supernatural abilities. In combat, he fought with twin blades, and relied on his own human strength, and the gadgetry Widget supplied.

Widget was brilliant at manipulating technology, able to coax almost any kind of machine into turning into some other kind of machine, and with an insatiable curiosity about… everything, really. Anything to do with infiltration, and of course, supplying gadgetry was a cinch, but she had neglected to work up to battle skills on Mike's level. Her whippet-like build didn't give her the advantage Mike's natural bulk did, though she was no slouch at hand-to-hand.

Wildfire was a pyrokinetic (fitting, with her strawberry blond hair just short of a true redhead), and reasonably skilled at throwing fireballs and controlling flames, though she wasn't able to fly either, and couldn't reach the intense heat that some of the others could. Not yet, at least. She seemed sweet, but was a real threat when she got going.

Last was – ah, there was Carnage, just come in. He could manipulate his own blood, and even coax it to be corrosive. A useful talent, though it came with the price of having to damage himself to use it. His arms were already scarred over.

The fact was, none of them were the most powerful on their own, but together, they made an effective team, synchronized in battle on a level most other teams could only dream of. With careful coordination, they could take down this shapeshifter.

(Erwin permitted himself a moment of fantasy: what would it be like to have a shapeshifter of that caliber on his team, what they would be able to achieve…)

"Just get me close enough and I'll corrode him," Carnage was saying.

"He'd stab you before you could do any real damage," Wildfire scolded.

"If he stabbed me, it would be his downfall!" Carnage said. "All I need is some blood-"

"But you'd be _dead_."

"What kind of name is 'Levi' for a supervillain, anyway?" Titan grumbled.

"It could be his actual name," Mike mused.

"But that's stupid! It's just _asking_ to be found out!"

"It goes along with Commander's idea that he's changing his looks!" Widget was excited once more. "He's supremely confident we won't be able to track him down, so confident he doesn't care about using his own name! We _have_ to find him."

"We need to figure out a way to contain him." When Erwin spoke, everybody else fell silent, listening. "If we can't hand him over to Interpol, we'll take him down. He showed some susceptibility to electricity-"

"Assuming he can't transform into a conductor." Widget's eyes gleamed. She looked far too excited at the prospect.

"If he's a superconductor, we can assume he'd be vulnerable to other things at that moment. Titan and I can take care of the physical side. Most things aren't impervious to flame, so we can count on Wildfire to do damage, or at least help slow him down. And if he can become flame-retardant, that doesn't necessarily mean he's acid-retardant. I doubt we'll be able to do this without hurting him badly, but Widget, please try to come up with options. The more we can keep our distance, the safer we'll be."

Everybody nodded soberly.

"Bloodhound, I'm relying on you to find him. Carnage, try to figure out where he's likely to strike next, so we can intercept him there. Until then, there isn't much for us to do except prepare."

"I'm off to scavenge parts, then! Wildfire, Eren, you coming to help?" Widget said, hopping to her feet (Erwin suppressed the urge to remind her to use codenames). "Let's see if one of those billionaires with the fancy suits has thrown away anything good, lately! I'll try to whip up a freeze ray."

The two of them got to her feet, but a thought made Erwin speak up. "Could Titan join you later? I want to talk to him about something." He only emphasized Eren's codename a little.

"Make sure he's back for dinner!" Wildfire turned back to say.

"Because otherwise there won't be anybody to make it," Eren grumbled. Ever since Wildfire had officially become Eren's foster mother, the boy had calmed down a bit. Erwin had to admit she was doing a good job (despite Eren's constant complaining about how she made him cook). It had been no small sacrifice on Wildfire's part – she was young and unmarried, and it took a special guy to look past her fostering a gangly teenager with rage issues.

Mike and Carnage left as well – Mike to do his nose magic, Carnage to do some hacking and see what he could come up with. That left Erwin and Eren to exit the base, climbing to the roof of the abandoned warehouse that hid it.

Early autumn brought cold to the air and rain had cleared some of the stink from this part of town, but it was still a few months until snow would make it temporarily beautiful. Against the skyline the imposing Steele building was visible, a clear monument to superhero billionaires who could afford fancy headquarters. And that was just the ones who were public about it – Erwin had his suspicions about some of the other goofy rich people who were blatant about their love of partying and just a bit too buff under their expensive suits.

Still, his Scouts were the first to have a shot at taking Levi down, and Erwin knew for a fact that there were several others currently eyeing him.

"So, you wanted me for something…?" Eren said, calling Erwin's attention back.

"Yes." Erwin turned to him, taking in Eren's still-calm expression behind his mask, and considered that perhaps this had been a miscalculation. Eren wouldn't take it well.

He had brought the boy up here, though, so he might as well.

"I thought that, given your background, you might have some thoughts about Levi."

"My… background?" Eren's eyes widened, and he took a step back, arms rising defensively. "My background is nothing like his! I was never a villain! I never cooperated, even when they killed my mother! And when we broke out and the others decided to wipe out humanity, I didn't join them either! I'm _not like him!_"

"I didn't say you were." Erwin refused to let himself be ruffled. "But you've known people on the other side personally, unlike the rest of us."

"That doesn't mean anything. Why would you even think this Levi asshole is anything like Reiner, Annie, or Bertholdt? What do you want with him? This guy isn't going to come quietly, you said it yourself, he'll be put down one way or another."

Erwin didn't answer, but Eren's jaw dropped open slightly with realization.

"You're crazy! You can't want to _recruit_ him? This isn't some two-bit bank robber who lost his job! He's a _supervillain_."

"He'd live," Erwin said, a bit reluctantly. He considered the world around him and couldn't help but think that many of the people who misused their powers were misguided and hurt.

Of course, in reality, leopards didn't change their spots and when they were out of prison they went right back to trying to blow up the world or whatever.

That was why the Scouts had more kills than arrests.

"We can't trust him! Why is he different from any other villain we've gotten rid of?"

"Because he's a shifter. He can't be held in a cell. It's death for him either way." Death, or kept in a drugged stupor for the rest of his days.

"Should have thought of that before he became a villain." Eren sniffed in disdain.

The conversation wasn't going anywhere, but still reluctance kept him speaking. "He doesn't actually have any direct kills to his name, based on Interpol's file. He doesn't even strike that often."

"That doesn't make him worth _anything_," Eren snarled. "He should be crushed. You said yourself that nobody else knows he's a shifter – who knows how many other crimes he's getting away with under other identities?"

Erwin couldn't resist a sigh. "You're right. I'm sorry for taking up your time. We'll proceed with the plan as usual."

Eren watched him suspiciously, then straightened up and smoothed his features, before returning to his normal teenage slouch, hands stuffed in the pockets of his dark green hoodie. "Good," he muttered, and headed inside.

Erwin hadn't _planned_ to be yet another superhero working at a newspaper. In fact, had he known when he started studying journalism that he was going to end up a superhero, he might have seriously considered a change in career, if only to avoid the painful cliché. But by the time his powers showed (later than usual, and no falling-into-radioactive-gunk as an excuse, either) he was already an intern, and after an evening of complaining to Mike and flailing a bit more than he cared to admit, Erwin had decided that he wasn't going to change his life plans entirely just because he could throw cars at people now.

So here he was, an editor at a newspaper, coming into work and pretending he didn't know that Rico from Graphics was actually Lightstream and that Nanaba who covered sports had energy-manipulation powers. They did him the same courtesy.  
He appreciated that Rico kept her disapproval of his behavior as a superhero out of the workplace.

Though he had plenty to do, he found himself distracted. He kept replaying the conversation with Eren in his mind, kept remembering the fight with Levi. The _right_ thing to do would be to call up Nile and get Levi's his very own supervillain file updated with his shifter powers. Or perhaps, the _responsible_ thing. The friendly thing. Taking care of the wider superhero community.

Erwin pulled his phone out of his pocket, then slid it back in. Levi wasn't the most notorious of villains, but he was slippery. And quiet. Most superheroes went after the immediate threats of world destruction, not the guys discreetly engaging in villainy on the side, especially when they thought he was a normal. The news that he was a shifter would push him way up the priority list, and while it was accepted that heroes stayed out of each other's way when someone had staked a claim, there was always the chance somebody would forget themselves. Just be in the right place at the right time.

Perhaps he should cultivate Levi as an arch-nemesis. Most of the big names had one, after all. But the fact was that Erwin didn't really believe in letting people run amuck more than once, and tended to end threats one way or another. Changing his tune now would be hypocritical.

He wondered how old Levi was. All his attacks thus far showed patience and calculation – probably someone well out of his teenage years, which threw a wrench in Erwin's desire to see him as young and misguided.

And there he was, speculating about Levi again when he should be editing an article. Erwin scrubbed at his face and rubbed his eyes. He would go to the bathroom, get a coffee, stop thinking about Levi, and get his work done.

Just getting up and walking from his desk to the bathroom was enough to steady himself a little. The mundane noises of the workplace surrounded him, reminding him that his was a plane separate from the one where he wore a mask and fought crime.

While washing his hands he dashed water on his face as well. He would probably regret soaking his shirt collar in a few minutes, but for now it felt good. He straightened up and looked in the mirror, water-combed his hair back into place.  
He narrowed his eyes at his reflection. Something seemed… off. Were the bags under his eyes more pronounced than usual? Had he shaved badly that morning?

His reflection frowned back at him, blue eyes stern, same as usual. Erwin blinked, and when his eyelids flickered open his reflection was grinning at him in an expression that had never graced his features – too wide, too gleeful, and certainly not what his face was doing at the moment.

His heart jolted and he couldn't help but take a step back, eyes locked on blue ones that were _not his_ as they faded to red in a black shadow of a face.

"_Found you._"


	2. Chapter 2

_Here's chapter two! I hope you guys enjoy. Feedback is, of course, appreciated._

* * *

"_Found you_."

Erwin didn't stop to think, rammed his fist into the center of that nightmarish face. He shattered the image, the mirror, crumbled the wall behind it. The mirror fell around him in a thousand glimmering pieces but Levi had melted away, avoided his fist, and vanished in the confusion, though Erwin's eyes darted around in an attempt to follow him.

Erwin was left alone in the bathroom, panting, surrounded by shards of mirror, and Levi was nowhere to be seen. His heart was racing in his ears so loudly he could hardly hear anything else. His eyes darted around the room, trying to glimpse anything out of place, something that might possibly be a shifter in disguise. Had the door to that stall moved? Should he break it? He could hardly blunder around breaking everything in the hopes of hitting Levi.

How had Levi discovered him so quickly?

"Erwin?" Rico called from the entrance, stopping at the threshold to the men's bathroom. At the sight of the broken wall she forgot herself and took a few steps in, jaw dropping. "Are you okay? What did you _do_?"

"I thought I saw something," Erwin said, mind already racing. If Levi was still here – and he assumed the shifter was – it would be too easy for Rico to give herself away, and then Levi would have the alternate identities of _two_ heroes instead of just one. "I just… suddenly felt like something was watching me. I don't know what happened to the wall. Perhaps there was some sort of fault?"

Rico narrowed her eyes. _Please get it_, Erwin thought at her, hoping she'd play along.

"Come off it," she said, "only an idiot wouldn't figure out that you've got superpowers looking at that wall."

It looked like she was cooperating. Erwin sighed and scratched the back of his head. "I guess," he said sheepishly, hoping his acting was up to par. Fuck this was embarrassing, he hadn't had to do an actual coverup in years. "But I really don't want anyone to know…"

"I didn't see anybody else in the corridor," Rico said. "Are you actually a superhero?" Definitely playing along. "Let's just get out of here and pretend we know nothing about it. I'll alibi you."

Well, it was a solution, if not an elegant one. Though…

"Check that the coast's clear."

Rico stepped out, looked both ways, then nodded.

The bathroom had one outside wall. Erwin wound up and kicked a hole clear through it, ignoring Rico's yelp, then leaped towards the door. To her credit, Rico didn't hesitate, just tore after him towards the coffee lounge down the hall.

"What was that?" she hissed. "Are you crazy?"

"With luck they'll assume somebody either came in or went out," Erwin said. "Won't be looking inside the building."

They both screeched to a halt in front of the door and strolled into the lounge, continuing an imaginary conversation about color schemes for internet page layouts. Erwin wanted more color, Rico said Erwin had no sense of aesthetics and people didn't want politics to have bright colors anyway.

"But constant red and blue is so _boring_," Erwin said. The conversation was a perfect fallback, being a topic they argued about often anyway, and left his mind free to think of what to do next.

Levi might attack again, and if that happened, Erwin had to _not be here_. If he left, Levi would probably follow – he hoped. If Levi took it into his head to impersonate Erwin… he shuddered.

Rico noticed. "What is it?"

"I'm not feeling so good. I think I'm going to go home and lie down a bit. Give my apologies to the boss."

She raised her eyebrows. "That bad, huh."

"Yes." Erwin hesitated. "I'm going home right now. If you happen to see me at the office again today, it's not me, do you understand?" And if Levi_was_ listening, now Erwin had given him the idea. It was seriously a lose-lose. At least he had an excuse not to spill the beans to Rico, but she'd definitely be after him for details later.

"Don't take that tone." Rico searched his face, then frowned. "I don't want to get mixed-up in your heroing. Keep it out of work."

She turned and left the lounge, walking a bit faster than necessary.

Good.

"You listening, Levi? Not here. I'm going outside – then you can attack, we can fight, talk, whatever it is you want."

He paused for a moment, listening to the silence, until he was sure that there would be no response. Or maybe Levi wasn't even there.

Erwin headed out, almost sprinting.

The news agency's large building was set on a busy street, hardly the ideal place if he was trying to avoid people. Erwin craned around looking for anything out of place, a person watching him too shrewdly, a – was he imagining it, or was that crow looking at him…?

Shit.

There was a park a few minutes' walk down the street; he would head there, and hope Levi followed. He would have said something aloud, but there were too many people, people everywhere. His gaze darted between them as he strode by, aiming for the park. A young man hurrying behind him, could that be Levi? Or what if he was a woman (Levi was a male name, wasn't it?), or impersonating one – that lady in a dark red jacket was watching him silently, following him with her eyes.

Above his head a crow called, was it the same one from earlier? Erwin felt sweat under his shirt and resisted the urge to swipe at the trickle on the back of his neck.

He needed to call the others, warn them. The Scouts had a panic button, but if he pressed it everyone would come running – and Levi would have his entire team, and his cover would be doubly blown. Still about ten meters to the park, he could make a quick phone call.

Erwin slid his phone out of his back pocket, pace not abating, and had the presence of mind to hide the screen with his other hand on the chance that Levi was somehow watching and would see the name listed. Fancy superheroes had dedicated secure connections; the Scouts used cellphones.

_Please pick up please pick up-_

"Erwin. What is it?" Mike was never one to waste words.

"Levi found me," Erwin bit out. "He got me at work. My cover's busted. Tell everyone to stay away, you hear? I don't want him finding you. Don't come to my house, not even in costume. Don't look for me. Try not to call, so he doesn't see the ID."

"Or we could help you," Mike said. A solution, but that meant Erwin disclosing his identity to everyone else. It wasn't that he didn't trust them, but – the more people knew, the greater the danger. He gave a different reason, just as valid.

"And risk discovery? Imagine what would happen if he got to Er-" Erwin choked himself off at the last minute. "-Titan. It would be a disaster." Using the codenames didn't matter, Erwin told himself, all of them were registered as a team anyway.

"You have a point." There was a pause on the line. "I'll tell the others. Stay safe."

Erwin returned the phone to his pocket and decided he wasn't waiting any longer. He jumped the fence into the park, and found himself among trees. He took a few more steps until he had found a reasonable space where the noise from the street was distant and came to a stop.

"Levi? Levi, show yourself!"

Silence. Erwin scanned the area, looking for anomalies. Twisted olive trees surrounded him, their leaves pale green and rustling in the light wind. Sunlight dappled the ground beneath them, and an occasional bird –

Erwin's heart jerked in his chest when he saw the crow hopping along the ground. He planted his legs a bit wider, in case he'd need to move quickly. "Levi?"

The crow flew away without answering. Had Levi become a tree? A bush? Was he even here? Erwin was tempted to leave it, to hope that Levi had had his fun and left, but Levi might be waiting for him to make just such a gamble.

"Fine," he said. "I'll wait."

Erwin crossed his arms and stood quietly. Ten minutes passed, then fifteen, and hell, Levi was probably watching him from far off and having a good laugh. Forget it. Erwin might as well head home, if Levi wasn't going to show. He stomped off towards the exit (forgoing jumping the fence this time), when suddenly something snagged his ankle and he went face first into the dirt. Erwin rolled to his feet, cursing, but no one was there, and there were no branches on the ground he could possibly have tripped over.

"How_old_ are you?" he snarled at the silent trees. With as much dignity as he could muster, Erwin brushed the dirt and twigs off his shirt and pants and kept walking, this time watching the ground for signs of movement. But nothing happened, until he was practically at the street again and a bird pooped on his shoulder. For fuck's _sake._

"If that was you…" But the threat was kind of pointless. He trudged back to his car, glaring at anybody who met his eyes, and yanked the car door open roughly before he caught a glimpse of some writing in the dust on the back door.

_That wasn't me. Gross. And your car is filthy._

"Good to know!" Erwin said, louder than he should, causing people to glance at him strangely. He got in the car and slammed the door behind him, sat down and put his hands on the wheel, when sudden tiredness overtook him. He wanted to lean forward and put his head down, close his eyes, but couldn't give Levi the satisfaction.

What did Levi_want_? Aside from money (which he wasn't going to get harassing Erwin), aside from the supposed attraction of villainy for its own sake – what did he gain from this? Erwin didn't know, because they knew nothing about who Levi actually was. Had Levi wanted to kill Erwin, presumably he had ample opportunity to try, so what was he waiting for?

"If you'd just tell me what you're after," Erwin said, "maybe we could figure something out."

He had little hope that Levi would answer, so Erwin wasn't disappointed when he didn't.

* * *

The rest of the drive passed without incident, though Erwin's nerves were frayed by the end of it. He was still berating himself for not checking for a car bomb before starting the engine, though luckily that didn't seem to be Levi's style. Maybe he should skip going home and check into a hotel? That way if Levi trashed the place at least it wouldn't be Erwin's house. On the other hand, who knew how long it would take Levi to make his move, and the expenses from a wrecked hotel room were sure to be high.

The outside of Erwin's small house in the suburbs was deceptively quiet. Nothing stirred at the windows of the one-story building, not a blade of grass looked out of place from Erwin's vantage point in the car. Nothing for it. He parked and headed up the drive.

So far so good.

He inserted the key into the lock and it turned with a click, but when Erwin pushed the door he encountered resistance. He shoved against the door, propping his shoulder against it while keeping his strength in check so as not to break anything. The door moved a little, but didn't open.

"This isn't funny, Levi!" Erwin shouted. His only answer was a loud crash from somewhere inside. Shit, shit-

Erwin took a step back and threw his shoulder against the door again, only this time the asshole must have let go because Erwin encountered absolutely no resistance and went flying. He got himself under control, but not before he had managed to leave a few dents in the floorboards.

The living room, when he saw it, was a disaster. Levi must have gotten here only a scant minute or so before him, but he'd evidently made good – if uncreative – use of the time. He'd basically upended everything. The sofas, including Erwin's reading chair were all wrong-side-up, and while the sofas were cheap and kind of ugly (though comfortable), Erwin _loved_ that reading chair. The bookcase he'd only bought a year ago had been toppled over, tossing books every which way. The broken lampshade and lightbulb left shards of glass sparkling all over his carpet. True, he'd hated that lamp and never used it, but now he'd have to clean it up.

The vase on the coffee table was broken, its flowers strewn around and water pooled on the table, streaming down and dripping onto the carpet. Most of the pictures had been torn off the walls, and the glass from their frames joined the lampshade all over the carpet and floor.

"You…" he began, but a knife flying at his head from the kitchen made him leap out of the way. He nearly wasn't quick enough - the knife missed him by scant millimeters and buried itself in the wall behind him. Evidently Levi was no slouch with knife throwing, either.

Erwin stormed over to the kitchen, eyes peeled for anything moving, keeping his fists clenched and arms loose to attack. There was no sign of movement, no disturbance along the way, and when he looked into his kitchen everything seemed in place, except for the knife missing from the magnet nailed to the wall above the counter. That was now decorating his living room. Even the few dirty dishes from this morning didn't seem to have moved, sitting innocently in the sink where he had left them.

A split second of intuition and the hint of breath on his neck was all the warning he had before he whirled and lashed out with his left fist. Levi dodged away, still too fast for him, leaving Erwin to punch a hole through the kitchen's doorpost and into the concrete wall.

Now, at least, Levi was visible – a black shadow with red eyes, like he had appeared before. Erwin attacked again, upping the speed, but it wasn't a match for Levi's slippery avoidance. He didn't even engage, just let Erwin bang his own house to rubble with every missed blow. Erwin could feel rage starting to cloud his thoughts and make his movements sloppy with the desire to_just land a hit on that grinning face_, so he forced himself to leap back and still. Levi stayed across from him, on the other side of the living room, and at least he wasn't wearing that infuriating grin any longer.

"What do you want?" Erwin asked, dropping his arms deliberately and straightening his back. "Talk to me. You're a criminal, but if you surrender, I could tell them-"

Levi interrupted him with a rough sound that could have been a bark of laughter. Erwin had the feeling diplomacy was going to fail. "Maybe I just want to hurt you," Levi said. His voice was scratchy and choppy, setting Erwin's thoughts spinning – was it an act? Scarring on his vocal chords? Disuse?

"Why? What have I done to you?"

"You found me."

"I don't know who you are. I haven't told anyone about your powers." A small lie – if Levi succeeded in killing Erwin, his teammates would surely have no compunctions about making sure everybody knew, so Levi could be taken down.

"Then you're an idiot."

Erwin kept on waiting for him to lose focus, to start pacing, to start grandstanding, but Levi did none of that. He kept his red eyes on Erwin and his body ready to attack if Erwin moved.

"Maybe. I wanted to have the chance to talk to you." Was it better or worse to convince Levi that this was part of a plan? "I want to know what you're after. Why do you want to hurt me? Why do you hate me?"

"Why aren't you scared?" Levi retorted.

"Worst case, you'll kill me," Erwin said and immediately regretted the misstep, because Levi straightened up and the slight softness that had developed around him vanished as he snapped back to attention.

"You'll _wish_ you were dead," Levi hissed, and vanished down the corridor to Erwin's room. Leaving Erwin alone in his trashed living room, surrounded by pieces of broken glass and furniture, and with a growing headache. He hadn't expected Levi to take it as a challenge, and he had the strong feeling he'd be regretting it.

* * *

Erwin spent the next few hours trying to restore his living room to some semblance of order. He straightened the sofas and swept up the glass, then vacuumed the carpet. The bookshelf got straightened, but at that point he was too tired to make the effort to rearrange his books by size and topic the way they had been before, so he just haphazardly stuck them on the shelves wherever he found space. A strange lethargy dragged at him, something deeper than physical exhaustion. After all, he hadn't done anything extreme today. There was no reason for him to be tired. But just looking around his living room was enough to drag his spirits down.

When he took out the trash, he considered just getting in his car and getting out of there. Maybe Levi was watching and maybe he wasn't, but at this point making a run for it didn't seem like such a terrible idea. That was when Erwin noticed that his tires had been slashed.

"Fuck you," he muttered, and reentered the house.

Might as well have dinner. He was lucky his house was reasonably stocked. Erwin put together an omelette with vegetables. Where normally the routine of chopping onions and mushrooms would have relaxed him, it did him no good this time.

In a burst of crazy inspiration, Erwin made one big enough for two, cut it in half, and set another place at the table.

"Levi!" he called. "Dinner time!"

He wasn't surprised in the least when Levi declined to show up. Still. Erwin left the cooling omelette on the dining room table when he went to wash dishes.

It wasn't late, yet, but Erwin just wanted to go to bed at this point. He stood at the edge of the hallway, feeling reluctant. Down the hallway was the direction Levi had vanished in.

There was no guarantee Levi was hiding out there, Erwin told himself. None at all. He wasn't going to stay out of his own room because of the fear that Levi had become a potted plant. He didn't have potted plants in his room anyway.

Erwin squared his shoulders, turned on the light – and found out Levi had taken out the hall lightbulbs.

"Immature," he grumbled, and walked down in the dark.

Luckily, the bathroom seemed quiet enough. Erwin stood for a moment, squinting suspiciously at the shadowed corners before deciding there wasn't much to do about it and he badly needed a shower. He stripped, tossing dusty clothes onto the closet toilet seat, and let out a sigh of relief when he stepped into the hot water.

The problem was, he realized, nervousness cutting through his desire to relax, the sound of the water masked anybody else that might be moving in the background, and the water running down his face decreased visibility. Well, no use in imagining trouble.

And indeed, it seemed that no trouble would find him, as he just stood there with hot water running over him, washing away soap and exhaustion, until he felt his wariness spiral slowly down the drain as well. He stood there longer than he should, though normally the waste of water would have bothered him. A reprieve, just for a few minutes…

Erwin had only the barest warning before something coiled around his ankles and _jerked_, stealing his balance on the smooth tiles and sending him headfirst into the wall, the faucet catching him in the nose and forehead in a bright explosion of pain. Luckily it was the faucet that broke and not his head.

Anybody else might have died.

"Asshole!" Erwin gasped, trying to get his feet under him, braced on his left arm while he used his right hand to prod at his throbbing nose. It came away pink, the still-running water washing away the blood quickly. Not broken, though. Just very painful.

When he got his feet under him, he saw that his knees had gone through the tiles when he'd fallen. And how was he supposed to turn off the water now? Erwin stuck his fingers in the hole and fiddled with the broken mechanism until he managed to coax the water off. He stood there, naked and dripping, not exactly clean but he didn't care anymore. His shoulders ached with tension, the need to punch something – preferably Levi. He should run for his secret weapon stash and find something to zap Levi with once and for all, because it didn't look like there was anybody to talk to. The vain hope he'd had of a shifter joining them seemed silly, now. Though, he couldn't help but remember Levi's almost childish question – _why aren't you scared?_Erwin pushed the thought away.

"Asshole," he said again. "You know how much fixing up my house after this is going to cost me?"

"Assuming you're alive to fix it," Levi said.

Erwin threw open the shower curtain, but there was nobody there. He got out and dried himself roughly, and didn't even bother wrapping the towel around him when he went to his room to get underwear and a change of clothes.

Clothes… shit. He'd left his clothes in the bathroom, and in his pants pocket was –

Erwin ran, but when he reached his pants he found that Levi had gotten to it before him. His phone was crushed. He thought again of where he kept his weapons stash, but almost anything there could be used against him as well. Assuming right now Levi didn't know how to find the secret cache in his bedroom, did he want to risk being watched while he opened it? Was it worth trying to get his hands on a taser?

Erwin decided to leave that option open. He could risk it later, if things got too bad. As of now, Levi seemed more interested in terrorizing him than in actually killing him. On a whim, Erwin checked the hall phone, which was silent when he pressed it to his ear. Levi had cut the line.

He just had to get his hands on Levi, and it would be over. Erwin wouldn't hesitate to crush him this time. Even if Levi could grow armor, he wasn't a match for Erwin in brute force.

But the shapeshifter didn't show himself again, so Erwin decided to go to sleep. His bedroom looked mostly undisturbed, which was suspicious in and of itself. Erwin scrutinized the heavy chest of drawers (carved wood, inherited from his grandparents. If Levi broke it…) with the small knickknacks and cologne sitting on top. Nothing had been tampered with here; he could tell by the marks in the dust. He opened his closet and tugged at the hangers, riffled through the underwear drawers, rubbing his fingertips over everything to see if they encountered an odd texture. He went and got a broom and started banging on the ceiling (if Levi could flatten himself into a mirror, he could flatten himself to the ceiling…), but nothing so much as twitched.

His bookshelves seemed undisturbed. Erwin looked at the small rug beside his bed contemplatively, then poked it a few times with his foot. It didn't move, but he decided to roll it up and toss it outside the door just in case. He waited a few moments, breath stopped, but there was no sound.

What else? Erwin got to his knees and checked under the bed, poking around with the broom to make sure. He lifted the pillow, but it was the same lumpy thing he always told himself he had to replace and never got around to it.

Shame he hadn't brought a knife from the kitchen to keep on hand. Though at this point he didn't want to risk leaving the room, because then he'd have to check everything again. Erwin flopped onto his bed with a sigh, the give of the mattress a relief from strain. He crawled up the bed and reached over the headboard to flick the lights off, then slid in between the slightly warm sheets.

"Levi," he said, forcing himself to calm because there was no _point_ in being angry, no point in letting it interfere with his goals. Levi was a royal asshole, that was certain, and a dangerous one. But if Erwin could just get leverage… "I know you think you're doing this because you have to. I want to offer you another option. You're not my enemy. We're not like those bigwigs who waste time and energy being rivals and cackling. You're angry at me because I got close to you, and you're lashing out." The room felt very, very still. Erwin stared up at the dark ceiling, eyes wide and straining against the shadows. "I know what the world is like for shapeshifters. I'm willing to cut a deal. Go to jail, serve your time, and I won't tell them you're a shifter. If you don't run, I'll have no reason to tell anybody, will I? I'll keep your secret. You have mine, after all. Nobody else knows my identity, except for one of my teammates. It's a fair trade, don't you think?"

Erwin didn't receive an answer. He waited in dark silence, but the clock ticked away and he was getting bored, getting sleepy…

* * *

He dreamed that he was drowning. He had gone swimming in the ocean, which stretched beautiful and blue to all sides, fish always off in the distance. Sunlight shone down through the water, the sunlight burning where Erwin could see it, floating on his back underwater. But soon enough he realized that he couldn't breathe, and tried to swim back to the air.

The water turned viscous around him, sucking at his arms and holding them back. Erwin struggled, he had superstrength, how was _water_ stronger than him? He kicked, tried to make his way to the surface, but it grew ever farther. The bright blue sea was darkening around him. Erwin couldn't think beyond the pressure in his chest, the need to _draw air—_

And he jerked awake, tangled in sheets that had wrapped to tie his arms down, in a bed that he was sinking into, and something was covering his mouth and nose. _The bed the bed Levi had turned into the damn_ BED. Erwin's lungs were screaming for air, sheer panic keeping him from mustering his strength to break Levi's hold.

Erwin kicked down and felt the bed shudder; evidently Levi could feel pain in this form. He kicked again, brought his arms together and tried to tear at the sheets. His vision was blackening, but he managed to draw his body together and tear his arms free, and then was digging fingers into the material – oddly solid, more like flesh than sheets – and _pulled_.

It came away in a burst of oxygen and Erwin surged up, getting enough leverage to land a few more solid kicks in the "mattress" beneath him, then his elbows, and Levi was melting away from him, taking a humanoid form again. Erwin managed to land a kick to his chest before Levi could materialize blades, sending him crashing into the wall. Levi nearly collapsed but became something that looked like an armadillo with spikes in every direction, forcing Erwin to dodge away lest he get cut to ribbons.

"I don't get you!" Erwin rasped. "What's your problem? You could have just cut my throat while I was asleep. What are you playing at?"

Levi rolled to his feet and absorbed the spikes back into his black shadow of a body, then gave a rippling shrug that annoyed Erwin possibly more than anything else Levi had done until now.

"Why?" Erwin asked, again. All Levi needed to do was give a stock answer and Erwin would leave him alone ("do I need a reason", "it's part of my complicated bullshit philosophy about the nature of Man", etc.), but Levi _wasn't_. Which meant Levi hadn't been around enough to absorb standard supervillain lingo, or hadn't reached the point where he'd said it so often he believed in it.

"I want you to know what I really am," Levi said. His voice was smoother this time, the intonation surprisingly normal, strengthening Erwin's hypothesis that Levi didn't hang out with other supervillains much.

"A bully?" Erwin snorted. "Or do you mean a dick?"

"No!" Levi burst out. "You-" He cut himself off with clenched teeth and just stood there, entire body tense and fists tight. Internal struggle or no, Erwin wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to get the jump on him. Just as he was shifting his feet, however, Levi suddenly threw himself out the window, the burst of shattering glass unnaturally loud in the silence. Erwin dived for him but missed, and by the time he slammed his hands on the window frame and leaned out, Levi was gone.

His back yard was dark and the same as ever, except for a misshapen, jagged pile of something under his window. At least now he knew where his real bed had gone.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks to everyone who read and commented! I hope you continue to enjoy. Remember, comments are always welcome and appreciated!_

_Warnings for this chapter: mention of past child abuse._

_Also, just to make sure, here's a rundown of the characters and their codenames:_

_Commander - Erwin_

_Bloodhound - Mike_

_Wildfire - Petra_

_Widged - Hange_

_Carnage - Auruo_

_Titan - Eren_

* * *

Levi had left the house, this time for sure. How long the reprieve would last Erwin didn't know, but now—

Erwin grabbed the air-conditioner remote, which Widget had done a wonderful job on. It looked completely normal, but when Erwin entered the code there was a soft _beep_ and a section of the floor slid upwards, revealing a modest arsenal and one of Erwin's costumes. Erwin pulled out a small taser, a gun, and a grenade. Then he stripped quickly and changed into his costume, hiding it under his clothing. This way, if he had to go out he'd be free to use his powers.

For that matter, he could signal the others and get them over here and have the whole thing done with. He allowed himself a tight smile and slid his weapons cache shut, relieved that Levi hadn't gotten to it. Installing it secretly had cost him a _hell_ of a lot. He checked his utility belt out of habit; as usual, it was fully loaded with darts, spools of super-strong wire and other odds and ends, to which he added the gun, taser, and beeper.

A swift glance at the clock showed him it was about 3 am, but his team wouldn't mind too much being woken up. Shame there were no buses, but all Erwin had to do was get out to a payphone and call a cab, or just run to a main street and flag one down. Either way, now with his costume and weapons, Levi was—

Erwin stopped short in the living room, the table catching his attention despite the gloom. The omelette was gone.

Curiosity gnawed at him, and while he knew he shouldn't delay, he couldn't resist a quick nip into the kitchen. Not only had the omelette been eaten, the plate was washed and sitting quietly in the rack.

Along with the rest of the dishes from Erwin's dinner that he hadn't bothered dealing with.

Erwin took a deep breath, struggling with himself. He should get going, he _knew_ that, but…

What was up with Levi? He was doing his best (and sort of succeeding) to terrorize the hell out of Erwin, so why had he accepted the omelette and washed Erwin's dishes? It must have been before the strangulation attempt, but if so, why had Levi tried to kill him?

_Had_ Levi tried to kill him? Erwin had been asleep (…on top of Levi. Or inside Levi, since he had apparently been the sheets as well. Erwin suppressed a shudder. Moving along), completely vulnerable to any manner of swift lethal attacks.

What had Levi said? He wanted Erwin afraid. Wanted Erwin to realize "what he was". Evidently he was doing his very best to be intimidating. Or provoking. Erwin had to admit, on anybody else the tactics would have probably worked pretty well. By all rights he should be furious by now, should be cursing Levi out, or should be ready to just put a bullet in him when the opportunity allowed.

So why was he still standing in his kitchen, looking at the neatly racked clean dishes?

_Because you're an idiot, Erwin Smith._

Erwim thought of the gun hiding under his clothes, and wondered if Levi wasn't waiting for him to use lethal force, to give Levi an excuse. What if he didn't? What if he kept on refusing to rise to the bait, refusing to become angry or to fight back? Was it a gamble worth taking?

The window of opportunity was rapidly closing. Now was his chance to finish it, put another checkmark on his list of villains stopped. Eren was right – Levi wasn't some innocent, tortured soul; he was stealing and selling _weapons._

And yet Erwin was just _itching_ to get him into a Scouts uniform and call Levi his own.

He would keep the weapons on him, under his clothes, he told himself. If it became necessary, he could protect himself. And he had to be prepared; despite the fact that he was reasonably sure that as of now Levi wasn't actually trying to kill him, there was no knowing how he'd react to being pushed.

Decision made (foolish, foolish decision that Mike would surely berate him for endlessly), Erwin turned on the light, sat down on his righted reading chair, and settled in to wait.

It must have been barely three minutes before Levi came tearing back into the room, stopping short in shock when he saw Erwin waiting for him. He immediately responded by growing blades and armor all over, body tensing for an attack.

Erwin didn't move, kept his hands visible on the arm rests and muscles lax. "Hey."

"What are you doing?" Levi demanded. He kept to his wary crouch, claws at the ready.

"Waiting up for you. Besides, I don't have a bed anymore."

Levi twitched. "You… you don't expect me to turn into your bed again, do you?" He sounded so horrified Erwin had to fight down a smile. It was_nice_ to have the upper hand.

He hummed, as though considering it. "I suppose it would be a bit awkward, now that I know it's you." He sighed. "If I sleep on the sofa, though, my back will be a mess tomorrow."

Levi was staring at him with wide red eyes, but Erwin distinctly heard a mutter that sounded like "freakishly tall" escape him. Interesting. Levi shook his head, as if to clear it, and set his scowl back in place.

"What's _wrong_ with you?"

"Me? I'm not the one invading other people's homes in the middle of the night. I just want to get some sleep, at this point. May I, or should I be prepared for another murder attempt?"

"You," Levi sputtered, and leapt. It was lucky that Erwin was waiting for it, because he managed to dodge both swipes, though the chair didn't fare so well. Crap. He ducked under Levi's arm and would have tried to throw him, but Levi grew more sharp edges that sliced his fingers. In the end Erwin picked up the coffee table and used it as a shield, which worked for a few seconds until Levi grew some bladed tentacles and reached around.

Erwin threw the table at him (leaving bloody fingerprints) and staggered back to lean against the wall. "Aren't you tired?"

"Shut up."

"Because I don't think you thought this through. _I_ got some sleep, but you have to keep watch, don't you? You can't go to sleep, or I might get away, and then what was the point of all this?"

"Shut up!"

"Don't you mean 'silence, fool'?"

"What?"

"'Silence, fool'" Erwin repeated patiently. "If you're going to be a supervillain, shouldn't you talk like one?" Levi looked absolutely furious, so Erwin held up his hands defensively. "I'm just trying to help."

"I'm not a supervillain, and I don't need to talk like an idiot to take you down," Levi snarled. He was starting to lose his cool, which meant he was becoming more dangerous.

"You actually are," Erwin replied. "You've got a good start on coming up with needlessly convoluted plans to kill heroes, anyway."

For just one split second Levi's expression changed, crumpled into pain. So quickly Erwin had to convince himself it was real and not just what he wanted to see.

"You don't _have_ to be that," he said, gentling his tone. Eren was right; Levi was nothing like him. Eren had searched them out, arrived full of righteous rage and ready to fight for the Right Side. They had had to convince him that the world wasn't quite so black and white, though to this day, Eren's very… drastic view of justice mostly suited the way the Scouts operated.

"There isn't anything else for me," Levi said bitterly. There was a small bit of truth in his words; shapeshifting was a socially unfortunate power to have. They were not often trusted – much like telepaths. Luckily, both were rare.

Should he push? For better or for worse, it would lead to a reaction. "You could be a hero."

"Why should I?" Levi's response was lightning-quick, his voice gone cold. "Where were they when _I_ needed one?"

Jackpot. Oh, this was beautiful. It was like his birthday had come early. Erwin suppressed any hint of the grin that wanted to spread over his face and swept in for the winning blow. "I think you still need one."

In the silence he could see the break, clear as day. Some tiny, wounded part of Levi that had been hurt and trampled and buried away, when all it needed was some warmth to coax it out.

"Why don't we call it a truce until morning?" Erwin offered. "I won't go anywhere. I just want to get some sleep." Time for a distraction, to let the ideas percolate in Levi's brain.

"It's a trap," Levi said, defensive once more.

"I don't see what kind. I'll be sleeping, so you can kill me if you want. Even if I had called the police, for one, you could easily vanish, and for the other, if you told them my other identity I'd be in trouble, too. Where's the trap?"

Levi had a deep frown on his face, but he wasn't attacking, and to Erwin's eye he seemed a bit less on edge, less ready to attack. Deliberately, Erwin dropped out of his own protective stance and took a step forward. Levi immediately tightened up.

"I'm going to the couch," Erwin said. "To sleep."

Levi watched him like a hawk (funny, because he could actually turn into a hawk and then watch him… No, Erwin. Bad pun), turning slowly in place as Erwin traversed the living room all the way to the largest of the sofas.

"You said it would hurt your back." Levi sounded suspicious.

"I don't have much choice." Erwin sat down and flopped onto his side, trying to find the least uncomfortable position. "Because _somebody_destroyed my bed." Legs to his chest, and his feet were hanging off the front. He tried straightening, hooking his knees over the armrest, but that would probably make his legs fall asleep. In the end he bent his knees and leaned them against the back of the sofa. Uncomfortable, but not too bad.

"Whiner," Levi muttered.

"Get the light, will you?"

One of Levi's arms became a tentacle which shot out and shattered the overhead light, plunging the room into darkness in a shower of broken glass. And Erwin had only just cleaned up.

"Uncalled for," Erwin sighed. Though not unexpected. In the darkness, Levi didn't look much different, still a black shadow, though now the red of his eyes was invisible. He hadn't moved.

"Can you make your eyes glow in the dark?"

"Why?" Levi's voice was more menacing in the gloom.

"Curiosity."

Levi was silent so long Erwin thought he was being ignored, but then he noticed that two faintly luminous red eyes were becoming visible, floating in the darkness above the ground. The effect was extremely unsettling.

"Nice," Erwin said, and closed his eyes. No need to fear anything else when Levi was standing there in front of him. Falling asleep was probably a bad idea, but… he allowed himself to drift off, wondering if he would ever wake up.

* * *

He felt a bit smug when he opened his eyes next morning, little worse for the wear. Or rather, nothing _additional_ untoward had happened during the night, but his hands, now that he got a good look at him, were a mess.

First order of the day, then: bandages.

None of the cuts were deep, just painful and itchy, so he padded some gauze against the worst and wrapped them up in elastic bandage from the bathroom, taping his fingers up in band-aids.

No sign of Levi, but Erwin knew better than to assume that he'd gone.

He made waffles for breakfast, noting that he was starting to run low on supplies, though there was enough for another day or two. His house wasn't made to withstand siege.

"Can I at least call in sick to work?" Erwin asked aloud, as he set Levi's waffle in the same place the omelette had been yesterday. Levi didn't answer, which Erwin took as a no. He hoped Rico would make excuses for him. Deliberately, he left his dirty dishes in the sink, same as before. Would he catch Levi washing them, this time?

What was he supposed to do now, anyway? His laptop was still intact in his briefcase where he had dropped it in the hallway yesterday, and Erwin wasn't inclined to try and take it out. His appliances hadn't fared well with Levi thus far, and he'd hate to lose his laptop, too.

The television was okay, though, since Levi hadn't torn up any of the other rooms the way he had the living room. Erwin headed to the room that doubled as a television- and guest room and flopped down on the sofa bed. He turned it on and started flipping through channels. An action movie was really not what he needed to watch right now; watching fake explosions just reminded him of the sorry state of his own home (and he had the sneaking suspicion that this room would suffer before the day was out). Horror was worse; he now had a visceral sympathy for the people tiptoeing around in the dark while things went bump in the night. He switched to the news briefly, where Eren had just rescued people from a car pileup in titan form, and was now giving a short costumed interview to the camera. The boy was practically glowing with pride, and Erwin made sure to change the channel before the fond smile that threatened to stretch over his face could materialize.

"Funny," Levi said, his voice close enough to Erwin's ear that he couldn't resist a shudder. "His costume looks awfully similar to yours."

_No_. Erwin stiffened, automatically thinking of the gun under his shirt, the taser within reach, wondering if he was fast enough to nab Levi with it. If Levi went after Eren, this whole thing was a bust. Any one of the provocations that Erwin had managed to brush off would send Eren through the_roof_.

"Going after kids, now?" Erwin asked mildly. "I'm not entertaining enough?" Cold sweat beaded his upper lip.

"Nah," Levi said, after waiting too long. He was faking nonchalance as strongly as Erwin was. "You're fun."

Levi had shown caring, so now he had to make up for it with violence. Erwin had a split second to prepare himself before something wrapped around his neck, aggravating the already-painful bruises from last night. He was quick enough to grab the tentacle and tear at it, but had to let go when Levi made it sprout blades. This thing where he could turn any part of his body into a blade was getting really old.

The fight was short and violent, though Erwin could tell that Levi's heart wasn't in it. They traded a few blows, Erwin accumulated a few more cuts and landed some punches, but Levi backed off pretty quickly and pretended he didn't care anymore. As he was stalking out of the (now wrecked, dammit) guest room Erwin called after him, "You're welcome."

Levi whipped around. "What?"

"For the waffle. Did you like it?"

"Fuck you."

"Thanks for not destroying my television," Erwin added, and was not surprised in the least when Levi gave him the finger. But when Levi didn't reach back to break it just for kicks, Erwin knew they were getting somewhere.

He spent the rest of the morning reading. It was amazing how much he could get done when there was actually nothing else to do. He actually finished the book that he'd been working through for the past three weeks. Levi made himself scarce, but he couldn't relax, because the second he did Levi would probably try to stab his eyes out or something.

He was seriously not set up for a long campaign. Still, it was either that or just end the fight now, and wouldn't that be a shame, especially now that Levi showed signs of having an eminently exploitable trauma in his past?

For lunch he made some rice and stir-fried whatever vegetables he had lying around that were starting to look bedraggled. His eye caught on the stash of instant noodles in his cabinet, and there was a regret: he should have started serving those first. Maybe Levi would have gotten frustrated enough to leave.

"Lunch!" he called, setting Levi's place out, as usual. He was actually surprised when Levi materialized from the direction of the kitchen, a scowl on his face.

"You're a fucking slob. Do you _ever_ wash dishes?"

Erwin smiled. "You're doing such a good job, though."

"You-!" Levi was about ready to blow up, but then reconsidered. "No way, you couldn't have expected me the first day, and you _still_ had a sink full of dirty dishes. You're just lazy."

Clever. Erwin smiled, allowing fondness to show through. "Are you sitting down?" He motioned at Levi's plate, steaming temptingly. "Food tastes better when it's hot."

Levi shifted from foot to foot, narrowing his red eyes. Could Levi even eat, transformed as he was? It would be interesting to find out.

Erwin sat down at his own place and took a bite. When his eyes flicked back to Levi, he saw that the shifter had taken half a step towards him, clearly wavering, and behind him was a flicker and a glint of-

"Mike _no_!" Erwin shouted, leaping to his feet just as a silenced gun went off with a too-soft _pop_. Levi jumped, which was probably all that saved his life. The bullet went through his side, but Erwin wasn't watching him, too busy vaulting the table to tackle Mike before he could take a killing shot.

Levi staggered and his body flickered in a sick ripple before the black faded to pale skin and dark hair. He was a young man now, much shorter than his black form, stark naked and clutching his bleeding abdomen. Grey eyes met Erwin's, wide with shock.

"Liar," he said, the word shaky on his lips. Erwin wanted to reply, _needed_ to, but he couldn't even maintain eye contact because Mike had pulled out another gun and was still trying to shoot Levi.

"Wait-" he had time to shout before Levi struggled out the window and vanished, leaving nothing behind but a few spots of blood. Erwin was left to turn his attention to Mike, who seemed to have given up on chasing Levi for the moment.

"Why did you do that?" he snarled. "I almost had him-"

"The only thing you have is Stockholm Syndrome," Mike growled back. "Have you looked at yourself?"

"That's got nothing to do with it," Erwin protested while Mike steered him towards the hall mirror (miraculously unbroken still). He was letting Mike push him, of course. If he dug his heels in Mike wouldn't be able to budge him.

"Look."

Erwin did, and had to admit that Mike had a bit of a point. Half his face was bruised beneath light stubble, and his neck was a mess of purple and yellow punctuated by a few thin cuts that had stopped bleeding. Unraveling bandages covered his hands, while his torn shirt was spotted with blood. He looked approximately as well put-together as his house, but he wasn't going to admit it. "What are you trying to say?" he asked coldly.

Mike rolled his eyes and walked off, making a beeline for Levi's discarded plate. Erwin headed back to the table and sat down, almost falling into his chair with the sudden release of tension. Levi was _gone_ and he was alive, he wouldn't have to deal with things turning into blades anymore and voices coming out of nowhere, wouldn't have to poke every chair before he sat on it, could get a new bed and actually _sleep_ on it. He was so tired he could die.

His head fell to the table with a _thunk_ that left a dent in the wood. "Call everybody," Erwin said. "Tell them to get to HQ. We need to plan our next step. I want you to follow Levi, find out where he lives and come tell us." Erwin was so tired he was slurring. "And until then, can I crash at your place?"

Mike ended up having to half-carry him to the car, grumbling all the way. Erwin fell asleep as soon as he was seated, and woke up a few hours later in Mike's bed with no memory of lying down. He stretched, working out kinks in his back and luxuriating in a bed that wasn't trying to strangle him. He knew he should be getting up, but lolled in bed for a bit longer, just enjoying the feeling of safety. His many cuts and bruises no longer seemed so bad. Levi hadn't hurt him much, and now Erwin had all the cards and Levi was on the run. Erwin smiled up at the ceiling, brain sparking to awareness, alive with battle plans. He was ready to tackle the world (or Levi) once more.

* * *

It was late evening, prompting much glee from Eren at avoiding his bedtime and admonishments from Wildfire not to get used to it. Erwin's costume covered up some of the worst of his bruises, but he received worried glances from his teammates nonetheless.

Mike currently had the floor, a blown-up map projected on the wall behind him.

"I managed to trace him no problem," he said. "He didn't even go to a hospital. Either he's not as hurt as we thought, or the bugger sewed himself back up."

"Or he's got a healing factor," Eren suggested.

"Maybe," Mike conceded, "but Widget says it's unlikely, because he's nearly at the end of the shapeshifting spectrum. Powers usually double up more towards the middle."

"_I_ have a healing factor," Eren mumbled. But then, Eren wasn't an example, as his ability to shift into a giant had been artificially induced. Whether or not he'd had the healing factor beforehand was unclear. They couldn't even cross-reference with the others of Eren's batch, because it was equally plausible that they had chosen a group of kids with healing abilities for the experiment in the first place.

"He lives here, alone." Mike showed them a small free-standing house set back from the street, surrounded by high hedges and hidden behind trees. "Not that far from us, only two cities over. Doesn't own a car, doesn't mow his lawn, though he's got a little garden in the back. Didn't leave his house the whole time I was watching, and nobody came to visit."

Carnage stood up next. "The property's owned by Levi Smith."

Erwin frowned and only just kept himself from denying any relation. Mike slanted a sly glance at him, and he glowered back.

"Doesn't seem to have a job aside from selling weapons, though you'd think he could afford a better place. There isn't much listed on him at all, actually. No driver's license, no passport. I found documentation of high school attendance and a birth certificate, but they're fake. He didn't appear in the yearbook he was supposed to be in, for example. But the real breakthrough came when Wildfire and I did some searching based on that sketch she did."

Wildfire grinned proudly. The course in sketch-artistry she'd taken certainly paid off.

"We started digging and got a match on facial recognition." Carnage showed them two images, Wildfire's sketch based on Erwin's and Mike's descriptions alongside a low-quality picture of a child that bore remarkable similarity, despite long scraggly hair and sunken cheeks. "These are from when downloaded the files from that Underground base we broke into a few years back. Apparently they picked him up at the age of ten from his relatives who were keeping him locked in the basement and were only too happy to hand him over. His powers were completely out of control."

Wildfire spoke up. "It said he was a shapeshifter _from birth_," she said, sympathy clear in her voice. "He tore his way out of his mother's womb."

A flinch ran around the table. Poor mother, poor child, Erwin thought. Most powers showed around puberty, which was bad enough. No wonder Levi was such a mess.

"Shifter from _birth_," Widget murmured, having gotten over the shock quickly, though her voice was still subdued. "Amazing, absolutely amazing. I just _have_ to find out what his limits are."

"That's still not an excuse," Eren's voice cut through the silence. "I was experimented on, too, and I never became a supervillain! Stop being so damn _pitying_."

"It's not a competition," Erwin snapped, making Eren jerk backwards, startled. It wasn't often they raised their voices at him. "It's not a question of what he's done. It's a question of what there is left to save. Or have you forgotten why we became heroes in the first place?"

Eren flushed dark red under his mask but backed down, and nobody else seemed inclined to comment.

Carnage cleared his throat. "Yeah. So, that puts his age at twenty-four. The file lists his name as… Curse Levi."

"Excuse me?" Erwin said.

"It really says 'Curse Levi'," Wildfire said anxiously. "Apparently that's what his family called him."

"No wonder he changed his name," Erwin murmured. "It's amazing he retained any of it." He wondered if doing evil under that name was some kind of elaborate smear campaign on the family that had rejected him. Or an attempt to show that they couldn't actually get rid of him no matter how hard they tried. Maybe both.

Erwin clasped his hands on the table before him and contemplated his fingers, mind racing. So here they had it, Curse Levi who wanted Erwin to know 'what he truly was', and Erwin had an inkling now of what he had been thinking of.

He looked around at his team, all waiting expectantly, and already knew how they would play this. Better yet, if Levi responded the way Erwin expected him to, it should override Eren's objections – and he was the biggest opposition against having Levi join them, at the moment. Even Mike was looking less hostile, now that they knew more about their adversary.

Before the end of this week, Erwin promised himself, he was going to see Levi at this table.


	4. Chapter 4

_This chapter was tough to write, because it's basically a reversal of Levi and Eren's canon relationship. A challenge to keep in character, but I hope I succeeded._

* * *

This plan sucked. Commander was probably completely and totally wrong about its chances of success, and if only Eren had the guts to tell him that he probably wouldn't be in this situation. But he didn't, so here he was, dressed in torn, ratty clothes, hair extensions tied back into a ponytail, pretending to be running away into Levi's back yard. His friends would probably think playing at espionage was cool, but in Eren's opinion it was the worst. A fight was a fight, but spying was like getting tossed out of a plane without a parachute. Scratch that, Eren would _rather_be tossed out of the plane.

He really wasn't happy about this part, doing a mission without his costume, but he wasn't supposed to give away his identity as a superhero at all. Petra had tried to convince him to see the disguise as another type of costume, but Eren was finding it difficult. It just wasn't the same. Seeing his reluctance, Commander had assured him everything would be okay if he followed instructions; yet another instance Eren wished he could tell Commander to shove it.

Eren didn't consider himself a particularly good actor, but in this case at least he knew exactly what it felt like to live the part he was playing. On the run from some big, shady organization, having no-one to trust… yeah, he'd been there.

He paused about a meter before the edge of the bushes surrounding Levi's yard and collected himself, willing his memories to take him a few years back. He imagined running, the drone of motorcycles following inexorably. Imagined hiding in the back seat of a car while the driver, someone he didn't even know, lied to a passing policeman. Already his breathing was ragged with the memories and he felt a spike of adrenaline that spurred him forward. When he tore through the brush into Levi's backyard it was almost as if they were on his heels once again. The jolt into empty space surprised him for a moment and he stumbled back into the dubious safety of the hedge and looked backwards at imagined pursuers. A beat, and leaping steps took him across the yard, trying to stay out of the vegetable patch, and he dived into the bushes right near the stairs leading up to the screen door. Twigs scratched at his arms and face, but they were easy to ignore and would heal quickly. From the yard he'd be practically invisible, but anybody coming down the stairs could definitely…

A creak made him yelp in not-entirely-feigned fear and he crouched down lower, as if he might be shielded miraculously. The screen door opened. Even though he couldn't see, Eren could practically feel the presence at the top of the stairs. He realized, too late, that this position had his head hunched over with the back of his neck bared. He shuddered a bit at the feeling of exposure, thankful that at least the fake hair lay against his neck even though it wasn't actually a defense.

Better was the fact that he had a lifeline: the rest of the team were listening in over the wire inside his collar, and could communicate with him through a tiny earpiece Widget had put together. If things went to hell, he'd have help in seconds.

"Hey, kid, I can see you there," Levi said. His voice was lighter than Eren had expected, dry but not mocking. "That's the crummiest hiding place I've ever seen."

Eren gulped and looked up, getting his first view of their enemy. Levi was starkly pale against his dark hair, his eyes washed out in the porch lights. Petra's drawing had been a good likeness, though it hadn't quite captured the sharpness of his features, the droop of his eyes. His clothes were decidedly normal - a tight sleeveless shirt that showed off impressive shoulders, and training pants. His left side was bulked up a bit with what Eren assumed was bandaging.

"Sorry!" Eren blurted. "Please don't tell them – they're after me – I swear I'll get out of your hair-"

"After you?" Levi's lips thinned. "Stay there for a sec, kid. I'm not turning you in."

And just like that, Levi turned and went back inside. He was trying to hurry, Eren could tell, but limping badly, his body stiff around his left side. Mike had got him good.

Should he go? Was Levi going to call the police? That would get really awkward…

"_Hold your position,_" Commander's voice came over the earpiece, so Eren shifted from foot to foot and hunkered down. He didn't have long to wait; Levi hobbled back out, scanning around (to check if the coast was clear?) before looking down at Eren.

"You still here? Are you stupid, kid? First rule on the run is don't trust anybody."

…Oh.

"But, here." Levi opened his wallet – evidently what he'd gone back to get – and riffled through it before pulling out a few bills and handing them to Eren. "Take this. It should be enough to keep you going."

Stunned, Eren could just hold out his hands to accept the_very large_ bills Levi was giving him. It didn't look like he had to worry about an attack, at least for the moment.

"No, wait, take some more. Don't want you trying to whore yourself out or something stupid like that. Now listen up. You head straight for the train station and buy a ticket far away, but don't get off at that stop, in case somebody checks. Buy some food on the way – either stick to fast food or pretend your mom sent you for groceries, so make sure to buy things like eggs and stuff. Get a dye job, a haircut, and buy some new clothes. Don't trust anybody. Tell everybody a different story. Try to do odd jobs so you can keep the money going as long as possible. If anybody tells you they've got an easy fix, don't believe them. Change your name, but pick something you'll answer to naturally, and memorize a fake identification number, in case anybody asks. I don't know who's after you, but you probably want to stay away from the police. And for god's sake don't do any drugs."

Eren couldn't answer, just stared with his mouth open, the money clutched in his hand. Levi was… trying to help him? Kid on the run shows up on his doorstep and he gives him a whole talk about how to stay on the lam and money to help him do it?

"Oi," Levi growled at him. "What's wrong with you? You should get going. I'll head off pursuit if I see any."

He was supposed to get into Levi's house, though, that was the plan. "I'm so hungry," Eren tried. Petra had actually not fed him in preparation so he'd be able to present a convincing front, and mostly kept him from sleeping last night so he didn't have to feign exhaustion.

"I don't care if you're hungry," Levi said, exasperated. "Don't take food from strangers! It could be drugged."

"But you're trying to help me," Eren said, sounding pathetic but that was probably good in this situation.

"I could be trying to win your trust in order to betray you later."

"But you're not, are you?" Eren replied. This was fucking with his head so bad. Wasn't that what he was planning? To win Levi's trust and betray him? But Levi was the _enemy_, he was a supervillain, so taking him down was the right thing to do. And for that he had to pretend he was being honest.

Eren seriously wasn't cut out for this.

Levi groaned and rubbed his temple with one hand. "I really think it's better for both of us if you just keep moving."

"I'm tired," Eren whimpered. "I haven't slept in ages. Please, mister, I swear I think I've got some time, and isn't sleeping on the train more dangerous? I won't have anybody watching out for me. Let me in, just for a bit, I swear I'll go afterwards."

"I'm not," Levi started, taking half a shuffling step backwards. He looked less assured now, worry lines deepening between his eyes. "I just…"

"Can't I use the toilet?" Eren said. "Please, mister."

He could see the exact moment when Levi relented. His shoulders slumped and he shrugged, though his face was still tense. "You're an idiot," he said. "Come on in, if you're that desperate."

Yes. He watched while Levi turned and vanished back indoors, then unfolded and clambered out of the bushes and up the stairs. _He was in._

He wasn't sure what he had expected, but it wasn't this. The house was tidy, almost scarily so, extremely clean but rather sparse. The air was a bit stale, hinting that the windows were mostly closed. The blinds – white and plain – were drawn, shutting the house off from its surroundings. Shelves full of books covered the living room walls, a few zoology-related titles catching Eren's eye as he passed by. Almost lost among them was a large screen attached to a gaming system, boxes of games stacked neatly beside it. Interested, Eren recognized Portal, several Zelda titles and Devil May Cry 4 before a noise from Levi dragged him back to the present.

"Bathroom's that way, if you need to take a shit." Levi jerked his head towards the hallway leading off from the living room. He was watching Eren with a frown on his face, shifting from foot to foot in discomfort. Eren felt his eyes follow him as he walked in the indicated direction to enter a bathroom that smelled strongly of soap.

It was hard to call it cozy – there was a towel on the floor by the bathtub instead of a proper bath mat, and Levi's lone toothbrush just lay next to the sink, no cup or anything. No decorations broke up the wall's harsh white tile and the light was just a plain fluorescent fixture. The only other towel was a bath towel on a hook behind the door, which Eren dried his hands on in lieu of anything else.

Back in the living room he saw that Levi was still standing where Eren had left him, eyes fixed on him. Eren waited for him to do something, say something, but Levi just kept on watching him with a little frown that Eren had no idea how to read.

Under the harsh lights of his living room he looked even whiter than he had outside, skin bruised purple beneath his eyes. From here, Eren could also see that he was remarkably short – maybe even as short as Armin – and looked a bit younger than the twenty-four he was supposed to be. He didn't look very villainous at all.

But then, neither had Reiner or Annie, and look how they turned out.

Levi's right arm kept clutching at his side, wrapped around his stomach. That must be where the bullet wound was. Apparently he didn't have much in the way of healing abilities. Good.

His side must really be hurting, because after about a minute of this he hobbled over to a sofa and sat down with a soft grunt. Since Levi didn't seem to know what to do with him, Eren took it upon himself to sit down as well, choosing a sofa across from Levi to settle gingerly upon. It felt stiff and new under him.

Sweeping the room with his gaze once more, because Commander was prodding for information in his earpiece, Eren's eyes settled on the gaming systems once again.

"You game?" Eren asked, for lack of anything better. He'd probably get kicked out in a minute anyway. Somewhere in his earpiece he heard a snort. "Do you multiplayer?"

"No. That would involve talking to people." Levi's tone was so deadpan Eren wasn't sure if it was an attempt at sarcasm or not. He didn't think Levi entertained many guests, though. Everything about his house seemed so… unused. "About that train..." Levi prodded.

"You said I could stay a bit," Eren whined, pretending it was Petra telling him to go to sleep because otherwise he might not have dared pull this sort of thing. Levi just sighed and didn't press him, allowing Eren's pulse to return to normal. Commander had been right; for whatever reason, Eren being a teenager was like some kind of magic as far as Levi was concerned.

So he… what? He sold weapons and then distributed the money to desperate teens to soothe his conscience? But then, why do it in the first place, if Levi wasn't even going to enjoy the money? He could spare himself the philanthropy and the guilt in one go.

The rest of the Scouts hadn't said anything but he could tell that they thought it, that Levi was kind of like Eren. He couldn't agree with that even though he was trying to set it aside for the sake of this mission, because his heart kept screaming that it wasn't true at all. Levi might be playing nice now, but he was a bastard. He'd certainly not minded beating up Commander.

He reminded himself of the briefing on Levi, to work up some sympathy. Kept in somebody's basement until the age of ten, they'd said. So fine, that was kind of awful. Eren kind of knew what that was like.

"This is really nice of you," he said, trying to pretend Levi wasn't the enemy. He arranged himself more comfortably on the sofa. Levi didn't answer, just followed his movements with his eyes and made an unhappy sound when Eren went to put his shoes on the upholstery. Eren quickly put his feet back down.

God, talking to Levi was _impossible_. "They killed my mom," he offered. He didn't mind saying it, in a way. He liked prodding at it every so often just to make sure it still hurt. It was why he still fought and would forever be.

"I killed my mom," Levi said, his voice the kind of neutral that Eren recognized. None of the other Scouts could get that tone right. "That's why you should go. I'm not a good person."

It took Eren a second to remember that a normal kid would get scared, and he sat up and stared in what he hoped was a convincingly confused expression. "Then why're you helping me?"

"Why'd you ask me to?"

Eren swallowed. Why _would_ he ask somebody like Levi for help? He tried to disconnect the man in front of him from the fact that he was a supervillain, tried to see nothing but what was in front of his eyes. Levi wasn't like other adults Eren knew. He seemed more like a teenager than an adult, really. He was even teenager-sized. "Because you're nothing like my dad," Eren said. Not like Commander, either.

"_Why did you kill your mom?_" Commander's soft voice came over the earpiece. Eren nearly jumped. He'd forgotten they were listening. Shit, what a question to ask. Levi would attack him for sure and then what was the point? But then, maybe that would be better, having a nice clean fight, none of this feelings crap. So he repeated the question, even though he was inwardly cringing because it was kind of callous, even for him.

Levi shifted again and tightened his arm around his stomach. He wasn't attacking but he probably wasn't going to answer either, and the silence was just getting awkward (well, _more_ awkward) when he said quietly, "I didn't mean to. It happened when I was born."

"Idiot!" Eren snapped, before he could even think. "That's not killing your mother! You were a baby, what did you know? You know what mother killing is? It's when your shithouse of a father injects you with some crazy shit to make you a shapeshifter, it's when they feed her to giant mutated failed experiments while you watch just to piss you off so you can be their good little killing machine-!" He was digging his fingers into the cushions, his voice echoing off the walls.

Aaand there went his secret identity. Shit. He could hear Commander and Widget muttering over the earpiece.

Levi, however, seemed to take it in a completely different direction. His grey eyes were so wide Eren couldn't help but wonder if he was shifting them and he leaned forward, apparently forgetting his wound temporarily. "You're a shifter too?" he asked.

Eren gulped. Nothing to do but roll with it, at this point. "Uh, kind of. I can only turn into one thing, though, and I can't control it very well. You're a shifter? Is that why you have all those zoology books?"

"Yeah." Levi was sitting up, eyes unnaturally bright in his pasty face. "But you've got to learn to control your powers, you hear me, kid? It's the worst if you can't. The worst." His voice was shaking with the effort. He was trying to keep it casual because he didn't know that Eren knew about his past. The whole conversation was unbalanced. This was all _wrong_, Levi shouldn't be looking worried about_him_ when Eren was just lying.

"I could help you, if you want," Levi was continuing. The hand that wasn't curled around his belly was picking at his pants. "Whatever you turn into, I could probably match it, I've gotten good, you wouldn't have to worry about going berserk and rampaging, and there's a mountain we can get to, it's outside of the city –"

"Ah, I don't…" Eren stammered, not sure how to continue but knowing he had to stop this _now_.

It didn't really matter because Levi shut his mouth mid-word. He dropped his eyes to the floor, and when he spoke again it was unsteadily. "You should go, shouldn't you?" Eren hadn't recognized the beginnings of a smile until now when it was wiped clean off of Levi's face.

Seriously, this guy was so fucked up Eren couldn't help a surge of pity.

"_Say you'll take him up on his offer_," Commander's voice came. "_Apologize. Say you were scared_."

Shit. This was. Just—_shit_. He gulped. "Wait," he said, mouth tasting like ash. "I-I didn't mean that. I was, scared. To, to lose control." This was so wrong. What did Erwin hope to gain? He couldn't show Levi his Titan form, Levi would definitely recognize him.

And yet, he thought for a moment, maybe Levi _could_ somehow teach him better control—no. None of this was real. He pushed on anyway. "Can you really help me?"

Levi looked hopeful again and Eren felt like the scum of the earth. This guy was so _not okay_.

"No!" Levi burst out in another lightning-fast mood change. He jumped to his feet, even forgot to hold on to his stomach. "I can't help you. It'll go wrong. It always goes wrong. I'm not a good guy, see. You have to go."

"_Remind him he said he can help you. You need to convince him he's not a bad person_."

How the hell was Eren supposed to do that when he wasn't convinced Levi wasn't a bad person? Or was he? Levi just looked scared and lost, he_wanted_ Eren to stay with him, he'd be so happy if Eren wanted to, wouldn't he? Agreeing would be the easiest way out.

And then he'd find out that Eren had been lying to him.

A chill went down Eren's spine at the thought. It was easy for Commander to orchestrate this from afar, but he wasn't here. He didn't have Levi's eyes in front of his face, didn't know what Levi looked like with the hint of a smile. When the inevitable betrayal came it was going to be so bad. So freaking bad. Levi would hate him and it wasn't _fair_ because this was all Commander's idea.

"I'm sorry," he said. He stood up and faced Levi squarely, hands loose at his sides, back straight. "I lied to you."

"_What the hell are you doing?_"

Levi jerked backwards with a small, involuntary sound of surprise.

"My codename's Titan. I was sent here because we were worried about you. I'm not going to hurt you – Commander just wants me to talk to you. We want to help you."

"_Eren! Stop it right now!_"

"Commander," Levi said, backing away. "You're… with Erwin! You came to take me-"

"_Aww fuck,_" Commander said (so his name was Erwin?).

"No!" Eren held his hands out and would have taken a step forward had Levi not twitched back. He was going to fight, Eren could see it in his eyes, just like he could see the lack of hope in them. "I'm not going to hurt you," Eren said, even though he knew Levi wouldn't believe him. Levi always expected to be hurt in the end – like Annie, who had locked her heart away and always attacked first, so she wouldn't be hurt. He _couldn't_be responsible for pushing Levi in the same direction. "I don't want to fight!"

"I'll die first," Levi said, raising his fists in readiness.

_"Get out of there!"_

_"Commander, should we go in?"_

_"Not yet, not until Levi's committed, or we'll push him over the edge."_

"You don't have to die!" Eren's voice cracked. "Nobody has to die, nobody's fighting!" Commander wanted him to run but he _couldn't_, his legs were frozen in place. _This was how it had ended last time. Reiner wouldn't listen, wouldn't understand–_

It seemed like Levi didn't even hear him. His body rippled with the start of a shift, and Eren brought his hand closer to his mouth in preparation._Not yet, not yet_- once he transformed there was no going back. His blood pounded in his ears as blades started to materialize out of Levi's forearms, elbows, back-

But the blades wouldn't solidify, just kept Levi's skin distorted and melting sickly along his body while his breath came hard through his nose and he clenched his teeth with the effort. If Levi couldn't shift maybe there was hope, he'd be _forced_ to calm down and communicate-

Levi opened his mouth as if to speak, then his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed to the floor.

"Levi?" Eren blurted. Was this a trick?

"_What happened?_"

Eren advanced carefully, leaving a wide berth in case Levi was going to try and jump him suddenly, but the man didn't budge. Commander kept yelling in his ear, demanding to know what was going on.

Taking a few steps closer, Eren nudged him with his boot. According to what the Commander had said Levi was more likely to attack than play dead. Eren knelt, shaking him carefully. Levi didn't even moan and his eyes didn't move behind the closed lids. "Levi? Are you okay?"

"_I swear I'm going to kill that kid, Widget. What the hell is going on in there?_"

He touched fingers to Levi's throat, noting that his skin was reassuringly solid despite how he'd been shifting before. His pulse was weak, hardly fluttering at all. Eren grabbed him by the shoulders and shook. "Levi! Wake up!"

"_Eren, Commander's going to have an aneurysm in a moment here…_"

Eren sat back on his feet, looking at Levi's nearly bloodless face. "I think we need to get him to the hospital. Now."


End file.
